255
drink pulque, threw a rabbit at
Tecciztecatl’s face. It dimmed his
light, ensuring he would never
shine as brightly as a sun. He
became Metztli the Moon, which
still bears the imprint of a rabbit.Sacrifice of the gods
Tonatiuh, the Fifth Sun, hung
motionless in the sky for four days.
The gods begged him to move, but
he refused to do so until he had
received a blood sacrifice. At this,
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of the
planet Venus, grew angry and
launched a dart at the Sun using an
atlatl (an Aztec tool that increased
the velocity of projectiles). The dart
missed. Tonatiuh threw a dart back
at Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli and it
pierced his head, turning him into
the god Itztlacoliuhqui, who spreadTHE AMERICAS
Teotihuacán
The city of Teotihuacán was
a place of pilgrimage for the
Aztecs, who admired its
magnificent ruins and thought
it the cradle of civilization.
Teotihuacán (“the place where
gods are created”) is the Aztec
word for the city; its original
name is lost to us. The city lay
30 miles (48 km) northeast of
their capital, Tenochtitlán, and
had been built between the
1st and 7th centuries ce. At its
peak in the mid-5th century, it
was probably the largest city
in pre-Columbian America.
Its major thoroughfare—the
Avenue of the Dead—was
flanked with civic buildings,
temples, and tombs.
The city's most impressive
feature was its immense
Pyramid of the Sun, and there
was also a slightly smaller
Pyramid of the Moon. Both
structures are mentioned in
the Fifth Sun myth, as the
“hills” raised by the gods
where, before their ordeal,
Tecciztecatl and Nanahuatzin
purified themselves.
At the heart of Teotihuacán
is the citadel, a large courtyard
where a third pyramid was
built ca. 200 ce. When the
great seven-tiered Temple of
Quetzalcoatl was completed,
more than 200 people from
outside the city were then
sacrificed there, including
36 young warriors.Leaders of Aztec Religion
The Aztec Emperor was the
gods' representative and the
high priest of Tenochtitlán.The High Priest
of the god
Huitzilopochtli
served as joint head
of all priests in the
capital Tenochtitlán.Every temple
and every god
had its own
priestly order.Priestesses
served in the
temples. Priestesses,
who cut their hair
to signify chastity,
often cleaned or
lit the fires.Priests took
charge of rituals
and ceremonies.
They also taught
novice priests.The High Priest
of Tlaloc shared
the leadership,
directing lower
orders serving in
the community.frost with the dawn. The gods
realized they had to make an
offering to persuade Tonatiuh to
move. Numerous gods offered
themselves to Quetzalcoatl, and he
removed their hearts with a sacred
knife. Their blood ensured that the
Fifth Sun moved through the
heavens. The gods had sacrificed
themselves to help mankind.
The Aztecs believed this
sacrifice by the gods was key to the
survival of all humanity. Aztec
warriors had a responsibility to
capture enemies to sacrifice to
Tonatiuh; they thought that if they
ceased to replicate the gods’ blood
offerings, the world would end with
a series of earthquakes. Only acts of
sacrifice could ensure that the Fifth
Sun kept moving across the sky and
that the world continued to exist. ■US_248-255_Sun_in_Sky.indd 255 05/12/17 4:16 pm